


In His Shadow

by SkullCollector



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, He gets captured, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hunk (Voltron) is a Good Friend, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron) Whump, Langst, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Protective Shiro (Voltron), Psychological Trauma, Sassy Pidge | Katie Holt, Shiro is a Good Space Dad, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:07:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26580370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkullCollector/pseuds/SkullCollector
Summary: What starts out as a normal mission ends up with Lance getting captured by the Galra. Instead of turning him in to Haggar and Zarkon, the sympathetic soldiers send him to 'The Pits'. A secret illegal fighting ring, much like the arena, but also very very different. When the team finally finds Lance, he isn't the same. Can he overcome the instincts that helped him survive, or will he remain a danger to the team?
Relationships: Allura & Coran & Hunk & Keith & Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt & Shiro, Allura & Lance (Voltron), Coran & Lance (Voltron), Hunk & Lance (Voltron), Keith & Lance (Voltron), Lance & Blue Lion (Voltron), Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt, Lance & Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 99





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Uhh so yeah there was that trashy summary. School has just started to get real so updates will be slow. I've had this idea in my head for a while, and wanted to try my hand at writing a Voltron fic! I'm expecting this to be about 10-20 chapters long? It might be longer, depending on whether I get more ideas for it. The Pits are based on something from another original story I'm doing with a friend! I've changed some stuff around so it fits this story better, but please don't copy the general setup and stuff without giving me credit! And, if you've come here while waiting for 'The Bones Under the Garden' to update, don't worry! I haven't abandoned that story, just hit a little bit of a writers block. Hopefully writing some other stories should help, and I'll have the next chapter for that out in a few weeks!  
> Enjoy!

The first mistake they made was boarding the ship.

It was supposed to be just a normal mission, attack the ship, download any info and rescue any prisoners, and get out. They had planned every detail out, every step, every blast. 

The ship had been a smaller one, with some sentry bots, and a few Galra soldiers patrolling the main control room. The plan had been simple, Pidge would use Green’s cloaking to damage the engine. Hunk would distract the ship with Shiro, Yellow and Black drawing the fire away while Lance and Keith snuck onto the ship. Pidge would join them once she’d immobilized the engines, and the cannons if the need arose. 

So far, everything was going smoothly. The ship gave another groan and shook, the engine taking heavy fire from Green. There were muted sounds of battle trickling in through the walls, the echoes of cannon blasts and the roars of Yellow and Black. 

Lance and Keith had just finished slicing through some of the last sentry bots. They were in the control room now, and Keith kept guard while Lance ran over to the main screen and plugged a small USB-like object in. It would gather as much data as possible, and secretly infect the computer with a virus, so if the ship was ever operational again, they’d be able to control it from the Castle Ship.

As the data was downloading, Lance turned his attention to one of the smaller side screens, pulling up the files on prisoners. It looked like there was one on board, in bad shape. 

“Keith!” Lance hissed, getting the Red Paladin’s attention. “Looks like theres one prisoner in the cells, I can go grab them if you cover me.”

Keith nodded wordlessly, watching the last of the data download into Pidge’s device. The ship gave another shudder as it took a hit, titling under their feet. Keith grabbed onto the side of the door frame, while Lance held onto one of the platforms near the center. As the ship stabilized, they tore down the hallway. 

_‘-I’m going to take out the cannon too, that last shot nearly hit you Hunk!’_ Keith realized Pidge was saying something over the comms, and managed to catch the last half. He turned to Lance, and got a confirmation nod that yes, Lance had heard it too.   
“Lance and I have downloaded the data, we’re on our way to pick up a prisoner. Expect us back in under 10 dobashes.”

_‘Affirmative. Stay safe you two.’_ The concern in Shiro’s voice was well hidden, but still audible.

“You know what we should come up with after this mission?” Lance suddenly said, not slowing down as they ran. “Codenames! I could be the Sharpshooter!” He gasped, his eyes shining. “Oh! Oh! Or the Tailor! Y’know why they call me the Tailor Keith? Because of my ability to thread the needle!”  
There was a round of groans over the comms, but Allura was the only one who actually responded.   
_‘Try to stay focused on the mission, paladins. I do not want any errors, nor do I want any of you to be put in unnecessary danger.’_

Keith resisted the urge to roll his eyes. _Yeah, like this is a necessary danger._ He quickly shoved the thought away. They were gathering info on the enemy, which was always something you should do before a fight. The end of the hallway was coming up, and according to Pidge’s map, the cells would be down the next hall and to the left. 

As Keith rounded the corner, he found himself face to face with a galra captain. His bayard had been activated before the captain could blink, and the fight was short. Lance wisely chose to stay out of Keith’s way, waiting for him to land the final blow before making any moves. He edged around the body with uncertainty, looking a little green in the face.

Keith didn’t understand why. They’d killed plenty of times! It didn’t make sense that Lance would be feeling sick about it now. He sighed, shaking out his arms and waiting to see if there were any reinforcements coming. If they saw the control room, they’d know that the paladins had headed down to get the prisoner next. Honestly, they were predictable at this point, much to Keith's discomfort. 

He glanced back, just to double check that Lance would fare alright. The hallway went back for about 20 feet, before turning sharply to the left. From there it led to the cells. Thankfully, the cells only had one hallway that fed into them, so Keith only needed to worry about protecting his area.

A dobash passed.

Two.

It had been about five dobashes, when Keith heard a metallic clang echo back from the cells. He frowned, and turned his head towards it.  
“Lance?”

A few seconds passed, before Lance shouted back. “I got the prisoner! Had some trouble opening the door though. Head back to Red, I’ll meet you outside. He’s- He’s bleeding pretty badly, I’ll try and patch him up in Blue.”

Keith turned to fully face the hallway, his back to the rest of the ship. “You sure you can carry him on your own?”

“Yeah!” Lance sounded like he had it under control, at least.

Keith sighed. “Fine! I’ll go ahead and clear any stray sentry bots, stay close and shout if you need help!” He didn’t give Lance a chance to respond, not wanting to hear whatever sappy comment the blue paladin would make about how ‘Keith actually _cares_ oh, it's a miracle! I knew he had a heart somewhere!’

On the way back to the lions, there were only a few sentry bots, and Keith dispatched them quickly. Lance kept him updated on the comms, checking in every few minutes to give him updates on the prisoner. It sounded like he was nearing the lions, so Keith was only a few minutes ahead of him. With that in mind, Keith ran to Red, getting her all ready to leave once Lance showed.

He waited a minute, before turning on his microphone. “Lance! Where are you?”

_’Almost there Keith, the prisoner.. He’s not doing too well. I had to slow down, he couldn’t keep up a fast pace, even with my help. Go tell Coran to prepare a pod, I’ll be right behind you.’_

_’We’re finished here Keith, we’ll head back to the Castle Ship to help the defenses, just in case the cannon gets restarted.’_ Shiro reported over the comms, as Black, Yellow, and Green pulled away from the Galra ship.

“Alright Lance, I’ll head back with them and help Coran. If you need help-”

_’Yeah yeah, I know. ‘If I need help, report it on the comms,’ I’ll be right on your tail, go help the princess!’_

With a final glance over his shoulder, Keith spurred Red, and zoomed after the other lions, keeping his comms on in case Lance gave them any updates on the prisoner.

 _’Alright, loading him on now. I’m going to try and stop the bleeding before we take off, it might take a tick.’_ They could hear Lance digging around in Blue, trying to locate bandages. 

Keith was a fair way away from the ship now, and he had Red stop, waiting for Blue to come and join them. A few seconds later, his feelings of triumph and annoyance had turned into unease. Red was saying something over their bond. _Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong._ The feeling was flooding through Keith. He tried to send his thoughts out to Red, to ask her what the issue was, but he was met with more feelings of unease.

_’Hey you guys?’_ Pidge’s uncharacteristically hesitant voice crackled over the comms. _’I don’t know if I’m the only one, but my lion’s acting….. funny. I think somethings wrong,’_

The other paladin’s confirmed it was happening with theirs too, and Keith was starting to feel sick. “What is it Red?” He asked, trying to find the source of the problem.

 _’The feeling is emitting from… Blue?’_ Allura reported, her brow crinkling in confusion.

Blue, who was now flying out of the ship.

Blue, who was charging up her cannons and aiming at the ship.

Blue, who’s pilot seat was empty.

“Where’s Lance?!” Keith shouted, frantically trying to get Red closer to the distressed lion.

The others seemed to have a similar idea, and out of the corner of his eye, Keith could see them pull away from the Castle and towards the Blue lion.

Blue was growing more anxious by the second, letting out a frustrated roar and aiming her tail at the ship.

They got to Blue just in time to have a front row seat as the Galra ship opened a wormhole, and using the last of its fuel, flew into it.

“No!” Keith roared, Red and Blue darting to the hole. They were too late, just inches away before it closed. “Lance!” The Blue lion let out an anguished roar, and the other lions echoed it. 

_’What happened?! Where’s Lance?’_ Hunk demanded over the comms, sounding….. Scared.

 _’Lance!’_ Shiro shouted into the comms, trying to communicate with him. _’Lance I need a status update now!’_ He was met with static.

Keith slowly turned on his microphone. “Lance was… He was on that ship- They must’ve got him or- or something happened with the prisoner and he stayed behind to help-” Because that was exactly the infuriating type of thing Lance would do. “Argh!” Keith slammed his fist down, glaring at where the wormhole used to be. “I’m so stupid! I should’ve helped him! Or at the very least waited to make sure he was alright!” 

_’Keith,’_ Allura’s voice was soft, but concerned. _’This is not your fault. This is the work of Galra. We will get him back, understand?’_

“But-” Keith protested, being cut off by Shiro.

_’Keith, you are not the one to blame. None of us thought something like this would happen, nor could we have known the outcome of this mission. We will get him back, and we won’t stop searching, okay? It's what Lance would want.’_

Keith took a deep breath, and mumbled out. “..Yeah.”

 _’Everyone meet back at the Castle Ship.’_ Allura ordered. _’We will sort things out there and set about tracking the ship.’_

 _’Already on it.’_ Pidge chimed in. _’I’m trying to locate their signature now.’_

As the others pulled back towards the castle, Blue remained, refusing to leave.

Keith sighed. “Red, can you tell her we need to head back to try and find Lance?” He got a confirmation growl, and Red flew over to the lion. 

Blue roared at Red, who roared back, before dropping her tail in defeat and slowly trailing behind them. When they got to the hangers, Blue lay down and put up her particle barrier, refusing to let any of the Paladins near her, and despite Allura’s reassurances that they would find Lance and bring him home, Keith found himself wishing he could do the same.  
He wanted to curl up and sleep, then he’d wake up from this nightmare and get breakfast and Lance would start a fight with him and Shiro would go into space-dad mode and everything would be back to normal. 

He could tell the others were feeling the same, and dinner was a silent event, unlike the rowdy and loud ones they’d had before. Pidge had barely eaten, consumed with her tech and trying to trace the ship’s signature. Allura and Hunk had tried a few times to get conversation going, but they were shut down quickly and did not try again. 

Despite everyone’s depressed moods though, there was a determination burning in their eyes. One thing was clear.

They wouldn’t stop searching until they got Lance back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following a lead, the team heads to a hidden underground fighting area, nicknamed 'The Pits'. Hopefully, they'll be able to slip in, get some information, and leave before anyone's the wiser. Things don't always go as planned, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing this instead of working on homework-

Two phoebs.

Two _quiznaking_ phoebs.

That was how long it took until they found Lance.

It took them two phoebs too long, in Pidge’s opinion.

They spent the first week scouring databases, hacking into Galra ship logs, and asking around for information on nearby planets. They got a few leads, but after checking each one out, they found they’d been led on a wild goose chase.

Pidge was getting tired of it. She hadn’t gotten a good night's sleep since Lance had gone missing, and with him not to pull her out of her lab, she found herself worked to the bone more often than not. 

The others weren’t faring well either. Lance was the heart of the group. She never realized how dependent they were on his ridiculous commentary, or jokes to lighten the mood. He was the one they would confide their problems in, the one who would listen and wouldn’t judge and would _help_ them work through their issues. Without him there….. Well, they were falling apart.

Pidge sighed, reluctantly retiring to her room and turning off the lights, hoping to get in the three varga’s of sleep Shiro had required so she’d be able to go on the mission the next day. They were following yet another lead, this one directing them to the only inhabitable planet in a far off solar system. They would be wormholing there in four vargas, then scout out the area and see if the lead was worth all the trouble they’d gone through to get it. 

Despite the fact that all of their previous leads and informants had been wrong or scams, Shiro refused to let any go unchecked, for if Lance happened to be in one they put to the side…. Well, he wouldn’t forgive himself. Ever.

Pidge, personally, agreed with his choice, and she knew the other crew members shared her perspective on the situation. Coran and Hunk were probably the ones taking the loss hardest, though Pidge knew Keith had been blaming himself ever since the mission. 

Coran had been stocking the med bay with any equipment they found on the planets they visited, preparing to treat anything and everything that Lance could possibly have. 

Coran had also been strangely…. Withdrawn the past few weeks, grieving for the boy he saw as a son. 

Allura was a lot quieter, and wandered the lonely halls of the ship in her off time, or shored up defenses and checked up on the crystal.

Keith almost never left the training room, and he was getting _really_ good at hand to hand combat. His sword skills were unmatched, and he’d made all of the high scores(Except the ones relating to shooting things, or guns, for obvious reasons). He looked terrible, with even messier hair, dark bags under his eyes, and wrinkled clothes. He was also _extremely_ short-tempered, even more than usual. Pidge had walked in on him shouting at a chair for ten minutes after stubbing his toe a few days ago.

Shiro spent most of his time gathering leads, training with Keith, and checking on Black. He was making efforts to get to know all of them better, probably since he felt bad he hadn’t really paid much attention to Lance, prior to the capture. Shiro helped a lot with motivating them as well, working hard to make sure all of them felt important and focused. 

Hunk was a lot more outgoing than he’d been before. He’d been stress baking, to the point where they had almost a month’s worth of food in the freezer room. He had tried to take over Lance’s position, talking to whoever looked down, distracting them from the cloud hanging over the palace, and trying his best to make up for Lance’s temporary absence.

It wasn’t enough, though. It wouldn’t be enough, no until they’d found Lance.

Pidge sighed, taking a few deep breaths to try and remind her brain she was supposed to be sleeping, not analyzing how Lance’s disappearance had impacted everyone. After a few minutes, she’d drifted off into an uneasy dreamless sleep, too exhausted to even have nightmares.

The next morning, everyone was up early. Pidge was the fourth one down, which was unusual for her. When she walked into the kitchen and took a seat at the table, she found Hunk already preparing breakfast(Fruit and pancakes), and Shiro talking with Allura. When Shiro saw her come in, he’d smiled, and finished his conversation with Allura.

“Good morning Pidge, how are you?” 

Pidge adjusted her glasses, yawning and rubbing sleep from her eyes. “Ready to go kick some galra ass and get my friend back.”

Shiro’s tired, “language.” wasn’t heard over Hunk’s snickering from the kitchen, and Pidge grinned in response. 

“Are you ready for the mission?” Shiro’s smile fell.

“Of course. I’ve made some adjustments to my bayard, I’m excited to see them in action.” Pidge patted her thigh, trying to symbolize her bayard.

Shiro opened his mouth to say something, but his eyes went to the doorway, and he closed it again to smile. “Keith! How are you doing?”

Keith stalked over and sat at the end of the table. “How long until we get there?” He asked instead.

“About a varga.” Allura chimed in, bringing the pancakes out while Hunk balanced a few bowls of fruit in his hands. They set them out on the table, and everyone served themselves. 

Coran popped his head in. “Breakfast, I assume?” He came in and grabbed some fruit off of Hunk’s plate, sitting next to Allura. “I’ll be opening the wormhole in a half a varga, so make sure to prepare while we’re flying.”

Shiro nodded. “Remember team, we’re going undercover at a fighting ring. I’ve heard the galra there might know some stuff about where Lance was taken. We go there to gather information, then get out.”

The team nodded. 

“Me and Pidge have added holographic sensors to your armor. It will be able to both conceal the armor, and alter your appearances. You’ll be able to blend into the crowd a lot easier this way, and you won’t have to worry about being recognized.” Allura took a bite of her pancake. “This pan of cake is delicious Hunk!” She smiled brightly. “Great job!”

Hunk gave her a shy smile. “Thanks. I tried using some different ingredients, they definitely turned out better than the last batch.” He didn’t bother correcting Allura. 

They fell into an uncomfortable silence, finishing their meal quickly, then meeting in the lounge to test out their new armor.

“So, there's a small button hidden in your palm area. Simply press like this,” Pidge tapped her palm with one of her fingers, and she flickered, suddenly becoming a woman around Allura’s height, with black hair done up in a messy bun, a robotic eye, and a scar adorning her cheek. She was wearing grey clothes, a shirt ripped at the sleeves, with dark grey jeans. She had a belt with a ton of pockets around her hip, with multiple holsters for guns. “And you’ve got yourself a new appearance!” Pidge grinned, holding out one of her heavily tattooed arms to examine it. 

Hunk smiled, and pressed his palm. He shifted, and in his place, there was a short man about the age of 30, with salt and pepper hair, a short mustache, and wearing a suit with a dark blue tie. “Cool!” Hunk said, turning in a circle.

Shiro ended up being tall with grey hair, and about 45 years old. 

Keith, much to his horror, became a young girl, with knee-length curly amber hair, bright blue eyes, and a crop top and cargo shorts. 

Pidge snickered. “As you can see, I took some…. Creative liberties.” Her commentary caused the others to laugh harder, and Keith to blush harder.

“Stop laughing! This isn’t funny Pidge! Give me a different hologram identity!” 

“Can’t, not enough time.” Pidge said between breathy laughs, doubled over and holding her sides. 

Keith grumbled something, but ultimately agreed. _It’s for Lance._ He thought as they walked down the grimy road, through dark winding alleys, until they came to a run down house.

Shiro knocked twice, and the door opened, leading to a tunnel that went further underground. He exchanged a glance with the others, getting subtle nods in return. With a deep breath, he started down the tunnel. The further underground they went, the grimier and darker the tunnels became. After walking for a few dobashes, they reached the bottom of the stairs, and continued down the tunnel. Stone bricks gave way to dirty, damp tiles. Pools of sludge water made it hard to avoid getting your feet wet, the dim torches on either wall not really doing much to illuminate them.

As the sounds of shouting and laughter grew louder, Shiro paused, turning to face them. They were alone in the tunnel. “Alright, tonight’s fight is supposed to be pretty popular, so that means there will be a lot of Galra and other species to interrogate. Keep the questions subtle, and if they don’t know anything, change seats. We’ll go in groups of two, Pidge you’re with me. Keith and Hunk, you two take the far end, we’ll cover the area above us. Does that sound good?” The others all nodded, and Shiro resumed navigating the tunnel. Less than a dobash later, the tunnel turned and opened into the bottom of the stands. They had to pause and blink for a few seconds, the bright lights blinding after the dark tunnels. 

Pidge grabbed Shiro’s arm and led him up towards the stands, while Hunk and Keith went around to the other end. Shiro and Pidge found some empty seats near the front, and sat down. Pidge cringed at the noise, knowing they’d only get louder when the fight started. 

The fighting ring, nicknamed ‘the pits’, was actually pretty small, the actual fighting area only 30 feet long and 10 feet wide. It had a packed dirt floor, and was set into the ground, so the front row seats were about 8 feet above it. There were dark metal walls surrounding the dirt pit, but they stopped when the walls reached the audience's feet, offering no protection. Pidge guessed it was to make the fights seem more exciting, adding in the fact that the audience was at risk as well.

On the North and South ends of the fighting pit, there were iron gates, but it was too dark to see what was behind them. Shiro guessed that was where the fighters would come out of. He and Pidge were sitting on the West end, and Keith and Hunk were on the East side, so they had a full view of the arena. Over near Hunk, in the back row, there was a roped off area of seats. One alien sat there, about 7 feet tall, with six arms, four orange slitted eyes, and a rat-like appearance, though with striped sickly grey-green skin instead of fur. His clawed hands were resting on a cane, tipped with an iron spike at the bottom, and a gold-coated top. 

Shiro guessed he was someone important, since he had a whole row to himself. He didn’t let himself dwell on that mystery, though, instead looking to see if there were any galra in the audience. There were a few, not as many as he’d expected. 

He got up to change seats, but as an announcer’s voice crackled over some speakers hidden in the walls, he was suddenly back at the arena, looking up at the cheering crowds and knowing they would settle for no less than his blood. 

_Blood, blood, blood, death, claws, teeth, blood, blood, blood. Monster you’re a monster you killed them that's what monsters do--_

Someone was saying his name. “-hiro!” A woman was looking at him in concern, and it took Shiro a second to remember that she was Pidge in disguise. 

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, are you sure you’ll be alright?” Pidge whispered, helping him back into his seat. Her voice was almost impossible to hear over the audiences shouts and the loudspeakers. 

“Y-yeah. I’ll be able to make it through the mission.” Shiro reassured her, closing his eyes and taking some deep breaths. 

“-Tonight we have a very exciting fight for you all! Not only will you get to see Arachnid fight again, his opponent is one of our new fighters. Now, I’m sure some of you have heard the rumors,”

Pidge and Shiro exchanged a glance. _What rumors? What are we missing?_ The fact that they were missing information caused Shiro’s anxieties to increase tenfold, because if they were missing that information, what other data could have escaped their grasp?

“And yes, the new fighter has been progressing through the ranks rather quickly. His sponsor, Verihl, did a good job teaching him the rules. Only took him a few weeks to learn what he could and couldn’t do.”

The audience snickered, and a spotlight went to the rat-man sitting alone at the top row. He smiled, showing off a sharp golden tooth. 

Pidge had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She’d done some background research on The Pits before they came, and the concept of sponsors made her _sick._ Essentially, they were like the owners of the fighters. They would each place a bid on any new ones, and the highest bidder won the fighter. The sponsor could then do what they wanted with the fighter. Each sponsor had specific cells and rooms that only they could access, to avoid stealing or other sponsors sabotaging the fighters. Many sponsors would beat their fighters into submission before they actually let them fight, or at least show them what would and wouldn’t result in a punishment. Sponsors basically controlled the prisoners' lives. They decided whether the fighter would be fed, the severity of punishments, the cell conditions, the fighters access to medicine and bandages, and many abused that power. Pidge had no doubts this sponsor was no different. 

“Unfortunately, Arachnids sponsor is out of town this week, so he will not be able to give out autographs later.” Some of the audience looked upset, but brightened up as the announcer continued. “That is all for the announcement part. Without further ado, let's bring out the fighters!” The lights dimmed to the point where Pidge could barely make out Keith and Hunk on the opposite side. Bright white lights flickered on along the bottom of the metal walls, at foot level with the fighters, so the pit almost seemed to glow. 

The east gate opened first, and a short alien stepped out, probably only about five feet. 

“Ladies, gentlemen, non-binaries, and everyone in between, give it up for Arachnid!” The audience _screamed._ Shiro did his best to ignore them, and shoved any flashbacks deep into his head. He’d deal with it after the mission. Arachnid seemed to be a fan favorite, judging by the audience’s excitement to see him fight.

Arachnid had a large scar running down the side of his face, and was missing an eye. He had pastel dark blue skin, but it was marred with scars and burns. He was humanoid, with two long, thin ears, a small nose, and a huge glowing green eye. He had three arms, and a stump where one should’ve been at the bottom of his rib cage. He was dressed in a dark jumpsuit, with purple accents around his hands and feet. He had a tail that was about as long as his leg, tipped with a thin, needle-like spike. He shook his arms out, long sharp nails sliding out his fingertips from where they’d been retracted. He looked around at the crowd, before doing some stretches to warm up.

Pidge sighed, and turned to the audience member to her left. It looked like a lizard-person, though without any eyes, and a bunch of dark electron-sensors on their nose. “So, I heard a rumor going around,” Pidge started, deciding now would be a good time to gather information. 

“Apparently-” She was cut off by the annoying announcer.

“And now, the challenger. Please, give it up for the Blue Paladin!”

Pidge’s question died in her throat, and she and Shiro immediately glued their eyes to the open west gate.

And standing at the edge of the fighting pit, was Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thanks for reading! You all are amazing, have an awesome day!
> 
> I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback! Consider leaving a comment or kudos?
> 
> Reminder to stay safe in these trying times, and keep yourself hydrated!
> 
> -Skull


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team has found Lance, and its escape time >:3

Lance looked…. Very different from when they last saw him. Shiro felt another stab of guilt since it took them so long to find him. He was going to make it up to Lance, whether that be having movie nights every night, taking a vacation to a beach planet, both, or whatever Lance wanted to do. Shiro could tell from Pidge’s horrified face that she felt the same way, and he had no doubts that the others were reacting similarly. 

The audience roared, noticeably quieter than for Arachnid, but still loud enough to make Shiro jump. 

Lance took another step forward, and in the light it was easier to see what they’d done to him. He had red lines around his mouth, probably from some gag or something.(Though Shiro had no idea what kind of a gag would go over someone’s nose-) He was wearing a similar black jumpsuit with purple accents around his shoulders, the suit cutting off around his elbows and knees. 

His limbs seemed mostly untouched, with some bruises around one of his wrists, a long scar running from his shoulder to his elbow on the other arm, and a bunch of small scars running up both forearms, like the kind you might get from glass.

His feet had a few burn scars, and Shiro felt sick as he realized the bottoms of Lance’s feet probably looked worse. He had a long v-shaped scar near his left knee, and on his right leg he had another thick scar running from his ankle to just above his knee. There were a few other smaller scars and bruises scattered around, but otherwise his caramel-colored skin was untouched. 

Shiro hadn’t noticed it before, but both prisoners had thin collars around their necks, Lance’s made of silver, and Arachnid’s made of some dark red metal. 

“Let the fight begin!” The announcer shouted into his microphone, and a few different weapons were dropped into the middle. There was a battered sword, a few daggers, two metal forearm armor pieces, and a weird thing with two metal poles, just large enough to fit in your hand, with a thin wire wrapped tightly between them. 

The audience screamed again as the fight began, loud enough Shiro felt his ears ringing once they settled down. 

Lance and Arachnid hadn’t done anything yet, simply staring each other down. Being in the front row, Shiro could feel the threatening aura's the two gave off, and he wondered how Lance had gone from being the happy ray of sunshine on the Castle Ship, to this scary pit fighter. 

Actually, when he thought about it, he _didn’t_ care. He was going to get Lance out of here as soon as the fight ended, identities and mission be damned. He murmured the change of plan into the tiny microphone on his wrist, letting the others know that they were getting Lance out. He smiled when he heard the others full agreement. 

In the blink of an eye, something snapped between the two prisoners, and at once they both rushed to the weapon pile. Lance got their first, and he grabbed the weird wire thing, the metal arm protectors, and a dagger. He clipped the arm things on, and scurried back a little ways, brandishing the dagger and keeping the metal wire weapon hidden. He bared his teeth at Arachnid, daring him to come closer.

Shiro felt horrible that Lance had had to learn how to survive down here, and once again, he mentally made a checklist of all the things they could do to try and get him back to normal, and feeling better. 

Arachnid had snatched up a dagger and the sword. He held the sword with his top two hands, the third one by his rib cage holding the dagger. 

Lance started to circle him, Arachnid mirroring the action. Lance growled at Arachnid, who gnashed his teeth in response. Lance bristled, the air around him somehow getting even more menacing. 

Shiro was confused. This certainly wasn’t like fights in the arena. First off, none of the people Shiro remembered fighting were able to manipulate their body language like that, able to give off scarier vibes without even moving very much. It was….. _unsettling_. At least to Shiro it was. This was nothing like the Lance he was used to seeing, and he desperately hoped they could get that Lance back. _Please._ He thought. _We can’t be too late. He’s gotta still be in there somewhere._

Lance ran at Arachnid, dodging his daggers at the last second and punching him in the back. Arachnid growled and whirled around, dagger and sword already aimed at Lance’s stomach and chest. Lance jumped back, and used the metal armor to block the dagger. The sword ripped through his suit, leaving behind a shallow cut stretching from just below his collarbone, to his hip. Had it been deeper, and he would’ve been sliced open. 

Lance retaliated by stabbing Arachnid’s arm with the dagger as it went past, cutting a deep gash from his wrist to his elbow. Arachnid yelped and dropped the dagger, curling his third arm against his stomach to protect it from further damage. 

Lance ran back to get more distance between himself and Arachnid, narrowing his eyes. He shook his arms out, to get blood pumping in case he needed to quickly strike or get away again.

Arachnid seemed more hesitant to approach Lance again, but after taking a few seconds of psyching himself up, he charged again.

It then became a game of duck and weave, Lance evading the majority of his attacks and managing to land a few blows himself. At one point, Arachnid's hand had come close to Lance’s face, and much to Shiro’s horror, Lance… bit it? Shiro had never seen someone fight like they were fighting, not even in the arena. They would growl and snarl at each other, use their nails and teeth to get an upper hand, and just…. Act like animals. It was sickening.

Lance was bleeding from a few deep gashes, one on his cheek, two on his shoulders, one on his upper leg, and another near his ribs. Arachnid wasn’t faring well either, bleeding from multiple stab wounds to his arms, a few shallow gashes on his forehead, and somewhere in the scuffle he’d lost his dagger. 

Arachnid charged without warning, looking desperate. He headbutted Lance in the chest, ignoring the dagger Lance stabbed into his back, and threw him against the wall. Right below Pidge and Shiro. 

Pidge leaned over, quickly dropping a barely visible black dot into Lance’s hair. The tracker grabbed a few hairs and hung on, hidden amongst the dirty curls. She subtly kicked Shiro’s shin, letting him know that they now had a way to track Lance, so they could get him once the match ended. 

Lance kicked off the wall without any warning, tackling Arachnid, and shoving his face into the ground. He rained punches on Arachnid, who grabbed one of Lance’s hands in his mouth and bit down hard, before twisting and throwing Lance off. As soon as Arachnid was up, Lance dropped his dagger and rammed into him again, this time throwing him up against a wall.

He pulled out the wire weapon, grabbing a pole in each hand and shoving the wire over Arachnid’s throat. It didn’t cut, but it crushed the windpipe. Arachnid choked for breath, his sharp nails scratching at Lance’s arms to get him to stop, and leaving small cuts.

 _That must be where he got those other small scars on his arms._ Shiro thought, feeling sick. _He’s done this before…._ Shiro felt the urge to cry. Cry for the innocence this place had ripped away from Lance, forcing him to fight and maim for others amusement.

Arachnid passed out from lack of oxygen, and instead of killing him, Lance dropped the weapon and walked away. The audience booed at him, screaming suggestions for how to kill Arachnid. Lance was unphased, however, and Shiro felt overwhelming relief to know that at least some of Lance had survived this place. 

Shiro’s relief died in his chest as he looked up to Lance’s sponsor. Pidge had managed to explain the most important parts of how sponsor’s worked while the fight was going on.

The rat man looked furious, his hand tightly gripped on the cane. His tail lashed back and forth, and he was making no effort to hide his irritation. He made a signal to the announcers box.

“And ladies, gentlemen, non-binaries, and other distinguished guests, that concludes our fight for tonight! Make sure to come back tomorrow night, where Reaper will be facing off with The Alchemist!” 

Aliens started to get up and leave, shuffling towards the various exit tunnels. Shiro got to his feet, but didn’t make a move to leave. The East and West gates opened again, and two guards barreled out of the West one, tackling Lance and forcing his face into the dirt.

Shiro growled, getting ready to run in and give them a piece of his mind. A hand on his arm stopped him, however. Pidge looked just as angry as him, but gave a minute shake of her head. The message was clear. _Not yet._

Arachnid was dragged off by a third guard, while the two holding Lance forced some sort of face piece on him. A muzzle. It was made of black rubber, and went over his nose and around his cheeks, completely encompassing Lance’s lower jaw. There were large slits running from the top of the muzzle to the bottom, starting small on the edges, and getting larger as they reached the center. The muzzle wasn’t there to gag him, Shiro realized. It was there to prevent Lance from biting the guards. 

They put some energy cuffs on his wrists, snapping them together and connecting an energy leash to them. They led Lance back through the West gate, and by now the seats were mostly empty. Shiro pulled out a small tablet, opening the GPS app and looking to see which way would take him to Lance. 

Lance’s sponsor had disappeared as well, but Shiro had an idea of where he’d gone. 

After taking a few seconds to analyze the map, Shiro tapped Pidge’s shoulder, and started walking towards one of the tunnels about 30 feet away. As they reached the entrance, someone grabbed his arm.

“Wait!” A deep voice said.

Shiro froze. He wouldn’t let them get caught, not when they were this close to Lance. He turned and quickly punched the person holding his arm, his robot arm already starting to activate.

The man fell back and grabbed his nose. “Shiro! It’s us!” He said quickly, wincing.

“Hunk!” Pidge said, grabbing Shiro’s robotic arm and forcing it down. “You shouldn’t have snuck up on us like that!”

“I know I know.” Hunk mumbled. “You guys know how to get to Lance, right? Because if you don’t, I bet Shiro’s arm could cut through the bars down there, and then Keith and I could fight all those guards, because they were so _mean_ to Lance and I’m going to make sure they get what’s coming for them and-”

Pidge quickly held up the tablet with the tracking system, effectively shutting Hunk up. “Lance is the blue dot, we’re the orange one.” She explained quickly. “We haven’t got much time before someone becomes suspicious, so we need to go _now_.”

Keith and Hunk nodded, following a few steps behind Shiro as he navigated the tunnels. After a few twists and turns, they found themselves in the cell area.

The cells had been carved out of rock, and were about 7 feet wide, 6 feet long, and 8 feet tall. They were damp, and mold was growing on the area around the bars. Each cell had a datapad outside, with a place for a passcode to be entered to make the bars disappear, and an open file with the prisoner’s information. 

The entire tunnel smelled like infection and rotting flesh, and Shiro’s eyes were already starting to water. They walked quickly, trying to ignore the haunted eyes of prisoner’s following them. Some of the fighters looked like they were on the edge of death, with sunken in eyes, gaping wounds that had turned black, and bugs flying around. Others seemed more spunky, and had recoiled and snarled at the group as they ran past. 

They got out of there as fast as they could, but Shiro couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched, or get the images of the dying fighters out of his head. He felt awful, leaving them there, but he was there for Lance and Lance only. 

“Isn’t it weird that we haven’t seen any guards yet?” Hunk panted behind them as they ran, doing his best not to trip on the uneven, rocky floor. 

“You’re gonna jinx us!” Pidge hissed back.

As if summoned, there were three guards around the next bend. A few slices from Shiro’s arm, and a blast from Pidge’s bayard, and they were down for the count. Shiro didn’t try and hide the unconscious guards, continuing to run down the hall. They were getting close to Lance, just a few tunnels away. 

They encountered a few more guards, but like before, took them down with little effort. Keith had a laser graze his arm, but other than that and a few bruises, they were all unharmed. 

According to the tracker, Lance would be in a room just around the corner. Shiro slowed down, holding his arm up to signal to the others to do the same. They all came to a stop, and cautiously peeked around the next corner. 

There was a large open cavern-like room, with white tiles coating everything, and various weapons and tools hung up on the walls. There were two guards positioned on either side of the doorway area that led into the cavern, and they could hear shouting coming from within. 

“-How many times do I have to tell you, you _stupid ungrateful mutt?!_ You are supposed to _kill_ your opponent! Not put them to sleep!”

Shiro waited a few seconds, then gave the signal. The guards had been shot in a few seconds, and Hunk kept his bayard activated as they walked into the cavern.

The sight in front of them made them freeze.

Lance’s sponsor was standing above Lance, who was bleeding freely from a bunch of cuts on his hands. He had a number of bad bruises not from the fight, and the sponsor’s raised bloody knuckle hinted at where they’d come from. Lances left eye was swollen shut, and his lip had been split. Lance no longer had the muzzle on, but the energy cuffs were still around his wrists, and the collar had a small, green, blinking light on. The skin around the collar was red and tender, and Shiro’s vision went red as he realized it was a shock collar.

“Now!” Shiro shouted, and with a yell, the team plunged into battle. Pidge and Keith grabbed Lance, who struggled and snarled at them, screeching for them to get away from him.

Shiro and Hunk fired shot after shot at the sponsor, the gun set to stun. They wanted him to suffer for what he’d done to Lance. Shiro powered up his arm, and sliced one of the sponsor’s arms off, glaring at him.

Once Hunk and Shiro had had their fill, they traded places with Pidge and Keith. Pidge shocked the sponsor over and over again, until he fell unconscious. Keith landed the killing blow. 

Lance was still snarling and spitting at them, but his movements were growing sluggish and he looked on the verge of passing out. 

Shiro tapped his palm, and the others followed suit seconds later, their disguises falling.

Lance’s eyes widened. “...You guys came?” He managed to whisper, before falling limp in Hunk’s arms as he passed out.

Hunk gently picked Lance up, reactivating his disguise. 

Pidge led them out, showing them which tunnels to take to avoid the guards. After a few minutes of hiding in dark tunnels, doubling back and switching routes, they reached a stairway.

“Come on! The lions are parked just outside the docks!” Pidge dashed up the stairs, the others on her heels. They reached the street, and blended in with the crowd, hearing the distant shouts of guards behind them. 

As they passed the docks, Pidge led them behind some houses. They used the alleys to get to the edge of town, where the lions had been hidden.

The lions dropped their particle barriers, all sniffing the unexpected cargo cautiously. Upon realizing it was the Blue Paladin, they quickly sent word to Blue, who had remained on the Castle Ship. 

A few seconds later, all of the paladins felt a rush of warm feelings. _My Paladin has been found!_ Blue’s excitement and happiness flooded through them, powerful enough to reach through them through the other lions.

Lance shifted when he felt Blue’s happiness, all the tension bleeding out of his muscles as a soft expression came upon his sleeping face.

The team dropped their disguises, not needing them anymore.

“Alright, Keith, the Red lion is the fastest, so I want you to take Lance with you. I already called Coran, and he’s got a pod prepared. We’ll be right behind you, okay?” Shiro gently took Lance from Hunk, who looked upset, but didn’t say anything, and brought him into the Red lion, setting him down on a pull-out cot.  
“Keep in touch with us via the comms, and update the castle if anything happens with Lance.”

Keith nodded, and Shiro couldn’t help but feel proud at how much Keith had grown in just a few months. He pressed a kiss to Keiths head. “I trust you to get him there safely. I’ll see you soon.”

Keith nodded again, and Shiro took that as his signal to leave. He jogged over to the Black lion, everyone else already in their respective transport. 

“Alright team, lets go. Stay out of sight of the galra ships, and get to the castle as quickly as possible.” He ordered over the comms, before urging Black to start flying. 

They made it out of the planet’s atmosphere without issue, staying far away from any possibly threatening ships. By the time Black reached the castle, Keith had already gotten Lance to the healing pods.

The others raced down, looking at Lance as frost covered the inside of the glass. 

“It seems Lance doesn’t have too many injuries, thank goodness.” Coran reported, sounding relieved. “He should be out in about 5 vargas.”

Shiro let out a shaky breath, taking a seat on the ground. Pidge and Hunk ran off, coming back a few minutes with blankets and pillows. They weren’t leaving until Lance was awake.

Looking around at the others, Shiro let a small smile come over his face.

Lance was finally home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> w o a h don't expect updates this fast, but its the weekend and I have time to kill. (And I have a lot of motivation for this story--)
> 
> Uhhh once again, thanks so much for reading! Leave a comment or kudos to let me know what you liked!
> 
> stay hydrated, and have a great rest of your day/night you awesome person!  
> -Skull


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little mini transition chapter since school literally buried me in homework last week r i p

The team had had dinner by the time Lance’s healing pod was supposed to open, so they were fed and content, and ready to see their friend.

Pidge and Hunk were huddled up in some of the fluffier blankets lying around, pillows tossed here and there and couches forming a sort of loose semi-circle around the team.

Shiro and Keith were sitting back to back, nearest to the pod and ready to catch Lance once he fell.

Allura and Coran were sitting on the couches, watching the pod expectantly to make sure everything was going alright. The readings on the pod showed Lance’s vitals had been restored, his injuries healed(His _physical_ ones at least) and he would be waking up any minute now.

The team waited impatiently, the tension in the air so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. They had talked about some possible outcomes for what could happen when Lance woke up. 

He could think he was still in the pits.

He could think it was a dream.

He could remember the rescue and know he was on the castle ship.

He could be perfectly fine and just like he was before he got captured.(That one was Hunk’s favorite, but Pidge had crushed his hopes quickly by saying it was statistically improbable that Lance would be the same)

They all huddled closer together, Keith and Shiro standing up to get ready to catch Lance as the tics on his pod counted down. 

_5…_

_4…_

_3…_

_2…._

_1..._

The pod light blinked, before opening with a hiss. 

Lance fell out, and Shiro quickly caught him.

He shifted, his eyes slowly adjusting to the bright light after getting used to the Pits dim lighting. 

Shiro gently set him on the ground, and the rest of the team(Allura and Coran included) moved so he could see them.

A look of recognition crossed Lance’s face, and he managed to choke out. “You guys really came-” Before tears started pouring down his face, and the team found themselves all pulled into a group hug, Lance sobbing softly.

They didn’t move for what felt like hours, all happy to stay in the warm embrace. Finally, Keith reluctantly pulled away, getting a good look at Lance. 

“Are you alright?” The two said at the same time.

“Of course we are, Lance.” Allura reassured him. “You’re the one we should be asking about.”

“I’m okay now.” Lance said, giving them all another watery smile. 

They had another hug, this one much shorter than the first. 

“Alright Lance, would you be up to having some food?” Hunk looked over to his friend, helping him to his feet.

Lance nodded, laughing. “I’m starving!”

Hunk grinned, and the team all abandoned the medbay, heading to the kitchen. Lance didn’t seem bothered, but they still gave him some space. So far, they hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary, but if anything, that made them more nervous. Shiro felt awful about it, but he couldn't tell whether this was truly how Lance felt, or if it was an act to put them at ease.

All he knew was that they were going to have to address the issue head-on at some point. He personally would prefer to get it done sooner rather than later, but he was willing to give Lance as much time and support as he needed.

Lance smiled and took a seat at the end of the table, his smile only growing as the others sat down in the seats next to him. Hunk disappeared into the kitchen, returning a bit later with what looked like lime green spaghetti, with orange sauce.

“It tastes just like spaghetti.” He promised, seeing the weird looks Shiro and Keith were giving the meal. He carefully deposited some in everyone's plate, then set the extra spaghetti in the middle, so if anyone wanted seconds they could serve themselves.

The others dug in, whereas Lance wolfed his down. The spaghetti was gone in under two minutes, the others trying to watch while also trying not to stare. Lance smiled brightly at Hunk as he finished. “That was really good! Where’d you find the ingredients?”

“Uh… we got them at one of the space malls we stopped by when we were looking for you. I went shopping with Coran while the others checked out some leads.” He smiled nervously. “Would you like some more?”

Lance looked confused at first, but his eyes widened in understanding, and he nodded quickly. “If it's alright, then yes!”

“You can serve yourself.” Hunk smiled again, and passed the bowl of extra’s to Lance.

Lance looked nervous, and eyed the other’s plates to try and get a good sense of how much he was allowed to take. He carefully put about half of the amount of spaghetti he’d had for his first serving onto his plate, and passed the bowl of extras back to the center of the table. 

Once he deemed it alright to start eating again, he devoured it, even quicker than before. The others weren’t even trying to hide the fact that they were staring at this point, and Lance shrunk under their gaze.

“Was that- was that too much?” He asked nervously, fiddling with the fork. 

“N-no!” Shiro said quickly. “Just.. it's nothing, don’t worry about.” He gave Lance a smile. 

Lance still looked anxious, but he put the fork down and returned the smile. “Did anything major change while I was gone?” He grabbed his dishes and walked over to put them into the sink, before returning to his seat. 

“Keith has a hippo pajama onesie hidden in his room.” Pidge suddenly shouted, before ducking to avoid the spoon thrown at her head. 

“I told you not to tell anybody!” Keith screeched, blushing furiously and looking for something else to throw at her. 

The rest of Keith's rant was drowned out by the sound of laughter, and Lance was laughing so hard his eyes were watering. 

Shiro and the others shared a soft look while Lance laughed, eyes shining as they realized their friend was back. 

(Spoiler; things aren’t always what they seem)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really rushed and I'm so sorry
> 
> I will have a not trash chapter out soon

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so thank you? Like, you read the bad summary and decided my fic was worth a shot? Seriously, you are amazing <333 If you have the time, consider leaving Kudos and/or a comment? The comments make my day, and I love hearing about what stuff you liked and what stuff you'd change!  
> Have an awesome day/night and remember you're amazing! <3333
> 
> -Skull


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